Type.



No. 744,836. v PATENTED NOV. 24, 1903.

Patented November 24, 1903.

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FRANK \V. WEEKS, OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.

TYPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 74%,836, dated November 24, 1903.

Application filed November 11,1902. Seria No. 130.911- (No model.) i

To all whom, it Duty concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK W. WEEKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Antonio, in the county of Bexar and State of Texas, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Type, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in type.

The method usually followed ir settingup a body of type for printing purposes, which body is commonly known in the art as a form, consists in setting up the type in a reverse manner-that is, the faces of the characters of the type are arranged in reverse orderso that when the form is placed in a press for printing the paper the characters printed on the latter will appear in the proper relation to each other. Asis well understood by those skilled in the art, this would not be the case were the type characters arranged in the form in their proper face relation. This method necessarily requires that com positors of experince and skill should be employed, and, moreover, it also requires that after the matter has been set up a proof should be taken thereof and submitted to a proof-reader forcorrection, after which the corrected proof is returned to the compositor in order that the type set by him may be corrected in accordance therewith. This course is always followed and is absolutely necessary to insure clean work by the compositor.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide type the construction of which is such that the same maybe set Without the necessity of employing skilled compositors and by the use of which the necessity for employing proof-readers is also entirely eliminated,thereby saving the time consumed by taking the usual proof, correcting the same, and returning the proof so corrooted to the compositor for a correction of the type set by him.

A further object of the present invention is the provision'of type so constructed that when set the matter composed will appear to the vision the same as when printed, so that the composed matter may be readily read at a glance and anyinaccuracies noted and corrected at once.

relief to the body of the type.

With these general objects in view and others which will appear as the nature of the improvements is better understood the invention consists,substantially, in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a type constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsectional View thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective sectional view illustrating the type assembled in a form.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the body of the herein-described type, which body may be formed of metal, wood, or other material adapted for the purpose, and said body is provided at one end with the usual printing character 2, which latter stands out in relief, as is usual in the form of type now commonly employed. The invention distinguishes, however, from this form of type by employing a double face or duplicate characters, and the duplicate charactor is designated by the numeral 3. This character, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2, is preferably formed by indenting the end of the body 1 opposite to the printing-surface 2 in the form of the character formed on said printing-face, the indentation being filled with a suitable enamel, paint, orothercoloring-matter designed to entirely fill the indentation, and thereby present the letter in. bold By reason of this the exact character will stand out, so that the character may be determined at a glance. It will also be observed that the duplicate character is coincident with the printing character, and hence while the printing characters are arranged in reverse face rela tion, as is usual, the duplicate characters are so arranged as to appear in the relation as when printed upon a sheet, so that the matter composed can be read at a glance from the duplicate characters.

In the use of the present invention the type may be assembled in a form with the usual spacing-leads or other media, such as wooden strips or blocks, and in order that the proper position of each type may be determined without the necessity of glancing at the character thereof one face of the body 1 has formed thereon a shoulder 4, which shoulder, however, is only suff ciently high to overlap the adjacent spacing lead or strip and to engage therewith. Obviously when the type is grasped in the case by the thumb and fingers by feeling the shoulder 4 the exact position of the type may be determined and so placed within the composing-stick, and when placed between spacing leads or strips the shoulder 4 engages therewith to hold the type at the desired point without the necessity of employing other holding means.

In using the herein-described type and in composing matter therewith each individual type is placed within the composing-stick so that the printing-face 2 occupies the lowermost position, and hence is not exposed to view; but the duplicate face 3, being at the top of the type, is exposed to the vision, and by this exposed face the matter composed is easily read. After the composing-stick has been filled the same is dumped in the usual manner; but when placing the type removed therefrom upon a galley the duplicate characters 3 are placed face downwardly and the printing-faces 2 are exposed to view. As each stick is read from the characters 3 before being dumped, any inaccuracies are at once noted and corrected, so that no proof of the same is necessary, and consequently the stick can be dumped immediately upon the galley, from which the type are made in the form for printing. It is t us obvious that the services of a proof-reader are entirely eliminated, and the necessity for employing skilled compositors is also overcome, inasmuch as through the medium of the charac tor-s3 the type maybe placed in the composingstick by persons unskilled in the usual methods of com posing and speedily set therein.

The shoulder 4, arranged upon one side of the body of the type, forms a very essential feature of my invention. The construction of type having a printing and a proof face and provided with said shoulder 4 forms the basic element of an improved system for setting type and printing therefrom, this system including as other necessary elements thereof a novel construction of type-case and a novel construction of combined compositors stick and chase. The essential feature of both the type-case and the compositors stick is the provision of a plurality of parallel slots of approximately the same width as the thickness of the type. In the use of my type the same is intended to be placed in the slots in the case with the shoulders 4 resting against the edges of said slots, so as to hold the type with their proof ends projected beyond the face of the case, and when used in connection with the improved compositors stick the shoulders 4 also engage the edges of the receiving-slots to support the type. This shoulder therefore becomes of great importance in the operation of my improved system and plays a very important part in connection with said type-case and combined compositors stick and chase.

While the form of the invention herein shown and described is what is believed to be a preferable embodiment thereof, it will he understood that the same is susceptible of various changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction, and the right is reserved to modify or vary the invention as falls within the spirit and scope thereof.

, Having thus described my invention, What is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

1. A type having a printing character at one end negatively positioned, and a reading character at its opposite end positively positioned, the latter end of said type having a shoulder on one side only to support the same, whereby said type is adapted for direct insertion and removal from the line in which it is set up.

2. Atype substantially rectangularin crosssectiou, carrying a printing character at one end, and a proof character atits opposite end, said type having three of its sides flat throughout, plain and unobstructed, and its fourth side provided with a projecting shoulder adjacent to the proof end thereof, whereby said type is adapted for direct insertion and removal from the line in which it is set up, substantially as described.

3. A type substantially rectangular in crosssection, carrying a printing character at one end, and a proof character at its opposite end, the latter end of the type having a shoulder on one side only providing a support for the type, whereby the same is adapted for direct insertion and removal from the line in which it is set, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK W. WEEKS.

Witnesses:

MARY E. THAYER, LAURA E. WEEKS. 

